Thursday, October 06, 2005

JOHN BARRYMORE (1882-1942), born John Sidney Blyth, later called Jack and "The Great Profile" was one of the greatest stage actors of all time, from a family of great actors.

Haven't you seen Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)? With all due respect to Fredric March (the only actor to ever win an Oscar for playing a monster), Barrymore's portrayal is the best ever.

Watch this and then see these other four films.

Don Juan (1926) Very early sound film, with synchronized music and sound effects but no dialogue.Grand Hotel (1932) Everyone in Hollywood passed through the doors of the Grand Hotel. When Barrymore did, he found Greta Garbo. Lucky him.Romeo and Juliet (1936) As MercutioThe Invisible Woman (1941) Late in life, Barrymore fell into broad, comedic character roles to pay for his booze.

1 Comments:

I haven't see Frederic Marsh' Jekyll and Mr Hyde but one thing I know for sure is that John Barrymore put always his soul to his actings. I saw Dr Jekyll last week, and it's a masterpiece. I love this actor in Svengali, one of the mos special movies I have ever seen. Grand Hotel was ok but too overacting to my taste. Marsh is a great actor, no doubt about it but ... give me Barry, thanks:-)

Has This Happened To You?

The décor was beautiful. The food was delicious. The music was delightful. Conversation flowed naturally. You gazed into a pair of lovely eyes and mentioned your favorite classic movie star. Then, because of one little word you heard, the entire evening came to a screeching halt.

“Who?” your date asked.

“Whaa! What do you mean, 'Who?'" you exclaimed incredulously.

This is where we educate the clueless about the world of classic movies.